Snippet #1874448

Gareth noted the reluctant restraint in both of his officers, “John has obviously been making a name for himself before I got here. At least it appears I won’t have to gather an airtight case to get him off this ship.”

He nodded perfunctorily at them, “Thank you. By the book. Let’s do this right and ensure the crew stays with us.” With that, and the confidence that his orders would be executed with efficiency, Gareth turned and headed below deck. He could only imagine that the master gunner would be in the powder room, or close by. Either inspecting the guns and keeping them in firing condition, or tinkering with some new innovation.

The acrid scent of an open powder keg hit his nose as he stepped into the powder room. The room was neatly organized, with one open keg in the centre. Gareth interrupted Edusrt while he was working on the loading mechanism of a musket, “Hello Edusrt. Good to have you aboard. I expect to get heavy use out of our guns. Both on the ship, and our personal weapons. I have heard stories of your projects and experiments. I endorse any advantage we can gain through inventive new uses of weapons. I only ask to try and keep Finch’s work to a minimum.” He chuckled lightly, “And suffice to say, don’t blow up the ship, okay?”

Gareth looked over the musket with curiosity, “Interesting. Looking to lower reloading time? I can understand that. I had thought about some ideas for my pistols as well. Something to keep the powder and bullet all together so there is no mucking about. Anyway, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about ideas later.”

Gareth drew his pistols and held them by the barrel, handles toward Edusrt, “Speaking of my pistols. Some say I have a pretty good shot, but from what I hear you can tweak a weapon beyond the normal bounds. Please, I would like to take advantage of your skills. Could you work your magic on my personal weapons. These have been with me my whole career. The last few years I have not had a need to fire them. I expect that to change soon and would like a skilled eye to prepare them.” The pistols themselves looked to be very well maintained. The barrels and firing mechanism were clean. The handles had the warm glow of wood well used. An expert eye could see that they had not been fired in some time though.

Finally, to ensure the safety of the ship and crew from a raving drunk, Gareth addressed the obvious, “We’ve all seen what John is capable of. Let’s ensure he doesn’t manage to do anything stupid while in a drunken rage. Keep him out of the powder room. Lock the door. Call myself or Kaitsu if he is getting unruly. As a last resort, if he’s that drunk, convince him of his need to rest as gently as possible.” Gareth sighed, “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I will endeavour to address this problem before it escalates. I have Kaitsu and Finch looking for evidence of his misdeeds. It’s hard to throw someone off the ship just because they get drunk. However, if he proves that he is incompetent or a danger to the ship or crew, well, that’s another story. I expect that will be shown soon enough and I can have him off this ship without anyone questioning why.”